Week of 2026-01-19

Hey. Short notes today, since I'm exhausted.

Illness

I wrote last week that I had been sick--little did I know that the worst was yet to come. I spent most of last week bedridden and staring at the ceiling. Fortunately, I'm coming out of it, but it was pretty disorienting for an entire week to just disappear like that.

It's no fun getting a bi-annual reminder that I'm asthmatic and my lung capacity only gets worse. Prioritize your flu shots, folks.

But maybe there are good things

I don't want to wrap on a dour note, so here are a couple things that made me happy towards the end of the week.

The Abyss

I'm not sure why it took me so long to discover natori; practically every song he has feels targeted specifically to my taste. It's reminiscent of utaite, and mostly on the dance-side, I think? I don't have a lot of experience describing music in terms for others to understand. You should just give it a listen.

He released his second album last week, compiling singles from the last couple of years, and I've been listening to it on repeat.

Deadlock update!!!!!

The next major Deadlock patch released last week, with new patrons, overhauled bases, and the start of voting for the next 6 heroes!

There's also a new 4v4, single-lane, multi-round game mode with randomized item selections. It feels like Valve took ideas from ARAM and Spike Rush and passed them through the devious intellectual lenses of the Hopoo Games devs.

It's a masterpiece, honestly--although it suffers from some balance issues due to heroes (ahem, Seven) who are just generally more suffocating in the conditions imposed by the mode.

Anyways, if you have access, you should absolutely check the new updates out. If you don't have access, you should ask a friend for it! Deadlock is a game absolutely dripping with style, character, and IMO it's the best of all the competitive games available right now. The new mode is a great way to get your toes wet.

Deadlock - Old Gods, New Blood

This Deadlock Major Update — Old Gods, New Blood — includes overhauled Patrons and bases, six new heroes, a fast-paced game mode 'Street Brawl', HUD updates, many quality-of-life additions, revamped postgame with an MVP screen, and more.

Well, it's nice that there was some energy in me after all, but I'll get our of your hair now. Thanks for reading--stay healthy, and have a great week!